PayFast, a leading and licensed payment service provider in Pakistan, has set a new benchmark by becoming the first payment gateway to implement Raast Person-to-Merchant (P2M) services. This development allows PayFast’s partner businesses to accept faster and more cost-effective payments from their customers.
Raast, launched by the State Bank of Pakistan in 2021, is an indigenous instant payment system that enables quick, 24/7 money transfers between any bank account and financial institutions. Initially supporting Bulk and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments, Raast recorded 33.2 million P2P transactions worth PKR 789.9 billion in the first half of 2023, which surged to 187.8 million transactions valued at PKR 3.96 trillion in the first half of 2024.
The latest phase, P2M, enables consumers to pay merchants directly using their Raast ID (IBAN). This capability is available to large businesses, SMEs, and freelancers, promoting a cashless economy, enhancing transparency, and reducing cash-related risks.
Raast offers several benefits for businesses, including instant settlements that eliminate traditional clearing delays, improved cash flow, streamlined operations, lower transaction fees, and a faster, more convenient checkout experience, which can increase customer satisfaction and sales conversions.
PayFast’s Raast P2M services include:
- E-Commerce: Integration of Raast as a payment method alongside credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and bank accounts on PayFast Checkout.
- In-Store QR Payments: Generation of dynamic and static QR codes through the PayFast portal, business app, or APIs for quick in-store payments and easy sharing via WhatsApp and email.
Additionally, PayFast offers flexible payment requests:
- RTP (Now): Immediate Request-to-Pay completion upon validation, ideal for instant purchases.
- RTP (Later): Creation of payment links with Raast, allowing customers to pay anytime before the due date through their bank app.
Adnan Ali, CEO of PayFast, stated, “Achieving this milestone with Raast P2M underscores our commitment to innovation. We’ve developed an in-house tech stack based on the emerging ISO-20022 standard to integrate seamlessly with Raast, empowering our partner businesses with new features and services that will drive their growth. We extend our gratitude to the State Bank’s Digital Financial Services Group for their continuous support and collaboration.”
